British Rail Class 91
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| British Rail Class 91 | |
 91101 at Kings Cross |
|
| Builder: | BREL. |
|---|---|
| Years built: | 1988 - 1991 |
| Number built: | 31 |
| Replaced by: | Still in use. |
| Voltage: | 25 kV AC |
| Brakes: | 45 t (air) |
| Length: | 63 ft 8 in |
| Height: | 3 |
| Weight: | 84 t |
| Maximum speed: | 140 mph (225 km/h) (Design) 125mph (200 km/h) (Service) |
| Operators: | National Express East Coast |
The British Rail Class 91 is a class of 140 mph, 6,300 hp electric locomotives ordered specifically for the East Coast Main Line modernisation and electrification programme of the late 1980s. Built to replace the previous Class 43 (better known as the InterCity 125), the Class 91s were given the auxiliary name of InterCity 225 to indicate their status as a new version of the 125 and their envisaged top speed of 225km/h (140mph). The other end of the InterCity 225 train set is formed of a Driving Van Trailer.
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[edit] History
The Class 91 fleet was built in two batches, the first 10, then the remaining 21, between 1988 and 1991 at BREL, Crewe under subcontract from GEC to work with Mark 4 coaches. At the time the Class 91s were branded by British Rail as the 'Electra'. Derived from power cars of the ill-fated Advanced Passenger Train, a power supply to allow the Mark 4 Coaches to tilt was provided but was removed during their recent rebuild.
One initial idea was to use these locomotives on fast passenger services in the day, and on inter-modal trains at night. These plans were dropped and freight workings left to the Class 90s.
The Class 91s began passenger service on March 3rd 1989 when 91001 worked the 17.36 London Kings Cross to Peterborough train.This train was formed of InterCity 125 Mark 3 coaches and a power car converted for use as a DVT as the Mark 4 coaches were not yet ready. The class 91s then began service on Kings Cross to Leeds trains on 11th March 1989 when 91008 with a rake of Intercity 125 Mark 3 coaches and power car 43068 worked the xx.xx Kings Cross to Leeds service. The set then worked 1A12, the 10.00 Leeds to Kings Cross service. On this service the guard made an announcement whilst descending Stoke Bank that this was the location where Mallard reached its world record speed of 126mph going down but this morning this Electra train had gone up the bank at 140mph.
In the early 1990's, after the Treasury failed to support funding for the IC250, British Rail examined the option of ordering a further set of Class 91s to operate on the West Coast Main Line. Limited funding meant that the procurement of the Class 465 EMU Networker stock was taken forward instead of these.
The asymmetric body style is streamlined at one end to allow high speed operation with the fixed sets of Mark 4 coaches in push-pull operation. An additional requirement of the design was that they could operate as normal locomotives. This led to a second cab being incorporated into the 'flat end'.[1]
The fleet, previously operated by InterCity and then GNER (Great North Eastern Railway), is now operated under lease from HSBC Rail by National Express East Coast, owners of the ECML franchise post privatisation, and underwent a refit between 2000 and 2003 to improve reliability. This has resulted in the renumbering of the fleet from 910XX to 911XX, with the exception of locomotive 91023 "City of Durham", which had been involved in the rail crashes at Hatfield and Selby. The locomotive escaped with minor damage on both occasions, but it was renumbered to 91132 (instead of the expected 91123) to avoid suggestions that it had "bad luck".[2]
A Class 91 , 91010 (now 91110) holds the British locomotive speed record at 162.8 mph, set on September 17th 1989 ,just south of Little Bytham on a test run down Stoke Bank with the DVT end leading. Although both Class 370s and Class 373s have run faster, both types are EMUs, which means that the Electra is officially the fastest locomotive in Britain. Another loco, hauling five Mk4s and a DVT, once ran between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley in 3 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds, still the current record. She covered the route in an average speed of 112.5 mph, and reached the full 140 mph several times during the run. When introduced, they were also the most powerful locomotive in Britain.
[edit] Intercity- GNER- National Express East Coast Livery History
When British Rail was privatised, Intercity disappeared and GNER came along. GNER then changed the white of Intercity to the elegant Blue and Red of GNER. In fact, some described the livery as being - "fit for a royal train". When GNER lost their franchise in 2007, the elegant red stripe was replaced by white masking tape. National Express East Coast plan to re-livery all of their Intercity 225s in the next two years. This encompasses the complete removal of the dark blue livery in favour of a more modern white and silver NX corporate livery.
The trainsets have earned the nicknames Stealth Bombers due to the deep blue colour of the livery. They have also been described as dung beetles by some enthusiasts - an allusion to their opinion of the Mark 4 rolling stock[3].
[edit] Fleet details
| Current Number | Original Number | Name(s) Most recent first** |
Dates | Livery | Operator | Status | Safety Test/ Lifted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Class 91/1 |
Class 91/0 |
|||||||
| 91101 | 91001 | City of London Swallow |
2002-present 1989-1994 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | May 2006 | |
| 91102 | 91002 | Durham Cathedral | 2002-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Jan 2006 | |
| 91103 | 91003 | County of Lincolnshire The Scotsman |
2001-present 1994-2000 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | May 2006 | |
| 91104 | 91004 | Grantham The Red Arrows |
1999-present 1996-1999 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | June 2006 | |
| 91105 | 91005 | County Durham | 2001-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | June 2006 | |
| 91106 | 91006 | East Lothian | 2001-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | December 2005 | |
| 91107 | 91007 | Newark on Trent Ian Allan |
2001-present 1992-1994 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Feb 2006 | |
| 91108 | 91008 | City of Leeds Thomas Cook |
2001-present 1997-2000 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | April 2007 | |
| 91109 | 91009 | The Samaritans Saint Nicholas |
2001-present 1998-2001 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Jan 2007 | |
| 91110 | 91010 | David Livingstone Northern Rock |
2001-present 1994-1998 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Sept 2006 | |
| 91111 | 91011 | Terence Cuneo | 2000-present | NX Silver/ White | National Express East Coast | Operational | Nov 2006 | Has now become the first of the class to receive NXEC livery. |
| 91112 | 91012 | County of Cambridgeshire | 2002-present 2000-2001 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | August 2006 | |
| 91113 | 91013 | County of North Yorkshire Sir Michael Faraday |
2002-present 2000-2002 1993-1998 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | April 2006 | |
| 91114 | 91014 | St Mungo Cathedral | 2000-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | March 2006 | |
| 91115 | 91015 | Holyrood | 1999-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | July 2006 | |
| 91116 | 91016 | Strathclyde | 2001-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Dec 2006 | |
| 91117 | 91017 | Cancer Research UK Commonwealth Institute |
2002-present 1990-1997 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | April 2006 | |
| 91118 | 91018 | Bradford Film Festival Robert Louis Stevenson |
2000-present 1993-1996 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Aug 2006 | |
| 91119 | 91019 | County of Tyne and Wear Scottish Enterprise |
2002-present 1992-1998 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Aug 2006 | |
| 91120 | 91020 | Royal Armouries | 2001-present (Vinyl) 1990-1996 (Cast) |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | August 2006 | |
| 91121 | 91021 | Archbishop Thomas Cranmer | 2000-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | August 2006 | |
| 91122 | 91022 | Tam the Gun Double Trigger Robert Adley |
2005-present 2002-2005| 1995-2002 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | April 2006 | |
| 91124 | 91024 | Reverend W Awdry | 2000-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | December 2006 | |
| 91125 | 91025 | Berwick upon Tweed BBC Radio 1 FM |
2000-present 1990-1994 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Feb 2007 | |
| 91126 | 91026 | York Minster | 1999-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | April 2007 | |
| 91127 | 91027 | Edinburgh Castle Great North Run |
2001-present 1990-1998 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | March 2006 | This class 91 has a shorter white stripe on one side of the loco. |
| 91128 | 91028 | Peterborough Cathedral Guide Dog |
1999-present 1990-1993 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | May 2006 | |
| 91129 | 91029 | Queen Elizabeth II | 1999-present (vinyl) 1990-1995 (Cast) |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | December 2006 | |
| 91130 | 91030 | City of Newcastle Palace of Holyroodhouse |
2001-present 1994-1999 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | May 2006 | |
| 91131 | 91031 | County of Northumberland Sir Henry Royce |
2000-present 1990-1994 |
Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Nov 2006 | |
| 91132 | 91023 | City of Durham | 2002-present | Blue with White Stripe | National Express East Coast | Operational | Feb 2006 | Involved in both Hatfield and Selby Rail Accidents. Renumbered 91132 (rather than 91123). |
**Not taking account of the period immediately after repainting into GNER colours in the late 1990s, when all locomotives were briefly nameless
[edit] Gallery
 GNER Class 91 at York railway station |
 It has become unusual to see the flat end cab of the Class 91. This example is at Crewe Works |
 Class 91 "Robert Louis Stevenson" at Doncaster railway station in original Intercity Livery |
 91019 heading north out of Peterborough on the East Coast Main Line |
 Numbering applied to a GNER Mk 4 DVT (shown on the right), a GNER class 91 (InterCity 225) is seen on the left |
 Class 91/1, no. 91118 "Bradford Film Festival" at Peterborough on 27 July 2003. This locomotive is painted in GNER blue livery. |
 A class 91 at Peterborough in the late 1980s wearing original InterCity Swallow livery. |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ 'mattingham' - GNER Class 91 driving flat-end first
- ^ Pritchard, Fox & Hall (2007). British Railways Locomotives & Coaching Stock 2007. Sheffield, UK: Platform 5 Publishing Ltd..
- ^ ukrailwayfaq » Rolling Stock Nicknames, <http://ukrailwayfaq.wikispaces.com/Rolling+Stock+Nicknames>
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